Boy in a green cap 1923

Tadeusz Makowski made this portrait of a Boy in a Green Cap, and I just want to say, what a great cap! You can see how the artist has carefully applied gentle brushstrokes, building up a sense of volume and light across the boy’s face, his simple garment, and that awesome green cap. I just love how the paint has been layered on thinly, with each stroke blending softly into the next, it must have been so hard to work like that, it's like the painting had to emerge slowly, carefully, you know? The colour palette is subdued – mainly muted greens, browns, and creams – and it gives the work a quiet, reflective mood. Look at the boy’s eyes, they seem to be gazing slightly off to the side, like he's lost in thought. It makes me think about all the painters who have tried to capture a similar sense of introspection. We’re all on this journey together, trying to figure out what it means to be human, one brushstroke at a time.